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Overview

Prior to the First World War, more people learned of evolutionary theory from the voluminous writings of Charles Darwin’s foremost champion in Germany, Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), than from any other source, including the writings of Darwin himself. But, with detractors ranging from paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould to modern-day creationists and advocates of intelligent design, Haeckel is better known as a divisive figure than as a pioneering biologist. Robert J. Richards’s intellectual biography rehabilitates Haeckel, providing the most accurate measure of his science and art yet written, as well as a moving account of Haeckel’s eventful life.

Editorial Reviews

Finacial Times

[An] excellent, well-illustrated and scholarly biography of Haeckel.

— Andrew Robinson

Times Literary Supplement

The Tragic Sense of Life is an immensely impressive work of biography and intellectual history, and a fitting testament to a complex and contradictory character. . . . Richards succeeds brilliantly in re-establishing Haeckel as a significant scientist and a major figure in the history of evolutionary thought.—P. D. Smith, Times Literary Supplement

— PD Smith

Choice

"This is an extraordinarily thorough investigation into the life of a great (and greatly maligned) scientist....This is a masterly work, and belongs in the library of anyone who has an interest in the history of evolutionary science. Highly recommended."—Choice

Cell

A truly engrossing and fascinating story about a man, the product of 19th century Romanticism, part artist, part scientist, who becomes by his own insight and conviction the epicenter of a powerful clash between science and religion. Even 100 years later, the repercussions of Haeckel's actions continue to be felt in today's scientific, popular, religious, and even political discourse. . . . Richards’ exhaustive scholarship is evident throughout this brobdingnagian and revealing work of biography and history of science....this book will go a long way in recalibrating our understanding, even our appreciation, of Haeckel’s position in the history of embryology and of his contributions to modern biological research.

— Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado

American Scientist

The Tragic Sense of Life, by Robert J. Richards, provides not only a biography of the controversial German evolutionist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), but also an important piece of the emerging picture of the Darwinian Revolution in its international and intergenerational dimensions. . . . Richards’s analysis brings Haeckel and Darwin closer together than ever before, even for those of us who resist making Romantics of them both. By doing so, and by defending Haeckel from the excesses of his critics and bringing out the personal side of his science, this book marks a major rehabilitation of Haeckel as a mainstream Darwinian, and a full-blooded one at that. It writes Germany into the larger story of the international development of Darwinism in a new way, and it injects welcome doses of drama, romance and natural beauty into the story.

— Sander Gliboff

History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences

In this magnificent book, Richards gives Haeckel a scientific reputation that he never quite secured during his life. The case is compelling that we should go back and look at Haeckel’s scientific work, and not just at the gorgeous pictures that have often distracted historians. Thanks to Richards, we have a guide to the work and its context and impact. He has brilliantly illuminated this fascinating and tragic life.

— Jane Maienschein

The Lancet

Haeckel has now found his champion in historian Robert J Richards who sets out to change forever the general perception of this man, whom he regards as one of the greatest in the history of the life sciences. . . . Thanks to Richards’s magnificent biography, Haeckel will never again be discounted.

— Michael Ruse

Science

In his characteristically rich and rolling prose, Richards weaves a compelling story of a life marked by tragedy and of an intense, larger-than-life figure whose passions drove his scientific research and philosophy. In Richards’s rendering, the scientific Haeckel cannot be understood separately from the man’s personality and private circumstances. . . . One cannot leave this book without a deep appreciation for Haeckel as a tragic figure and for the force of personality in shaping the direction science may take."—Lynn Nyhart, Science

— Lynn Nyhart

Quarterly Review of Biology

This is a fascinating book. It should be read carefully and avidly.

— Elof Axel Carlson

History Today

[An] absorbing biography.

— Gregory Radick

Finacial Times
- Andrew Robinson

Times Literary Supplement
- PD Smith

“The Tragic Sense of Life is an immensely impressive work of biography and intellectual history, and a fitting testament to a complex and contradictory character. . . . Richards succeeds brilliantly in re-establishing Haeckel as a significant scientist and a major figure in the history of evolutionary thought.”—P. D. Smith, Times Literary Supplement

Cell
- Alejandro S�nchez Alvarado

"A truly engrossing and fascinating story about a man, the product of 19th century Romanticism, part artist, part scientist, who becomes by his own insight and conviction the epicenter of a powerful clash between science and religion. Even 100 years later, the repercussions of Haeckel's actions continue to be felt in today's scientific, popular, religious, and even political discourse. . . . Richards’ exhaustive scholarship is evident throughout this brobdingnagian and revealing work of biography and history of science....this book will go a long way in recalibrating our understanding, even our appreciation, of Haeckel’s position in the history of embryology and of his contributions to modern biological research."

American Scientist
- Sander Gliboff

"The Tragic Sense of Life, by Robert J. Richards, provides not only a biography of the controversial German evolutionist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), but also an important piece of the emerging picture of the Darwinian Revolution in its international and intergenerational dimensions. . . . Richards’s analysis brings Haeckel and Darwin closer together than ever before, even for those of us who resist making Romantics of them both. By doing so, and by defending Haeckel from the excesses of his critics and bringing out the personal side of his science, this book marks a major rehabilitation of Haeckel as a mainstream Darwinian, and a full-blooded one at that. It writes Germany into the larger story of the international development of Darwinism in a new way, and it injects welcome doses of drama, romance and natural beauty into the story."

History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
- Jane Maienschein

"In this magnificent book, Richards gives Haeckel a scientific reputation that he never quite secured during his life. The case is compelling that we should go back and look at Haeckel’s scientific work, and not just at the gorgeous pictures that have often distracted historians. Thanks to Richards, we have a guide to the work and its context and impact. He has brilliantly illuminated this fascinating and tragic life."

The Lancet
- Michael Ruse

"Haeckel has now found his champion in historian Robert J Richards who sets out to change forever the general perception of this man, whom he regards as one of the greatest in the history of the life sciences. . . . Thanks to Richards’s magnificent biography, Haeckel will never again be discounted."

Science
- Lynn Nyhart

"In his characteristically rich and rolling prose, Richards weaves a compelling story of a life marked by tragedy and of an intense, larger-than-life figure whose passions drove his scientific research and philosophy. In Richards’s rendering, the scientific Haeckel cannot be understood separately from the man’s personality and private circumstances. . . . One cannot leave this book without a deep appreciation for Haeckel as a tragic figure and for the force of personality in shaping the direction science may take."—Lynn Nyhart, Science

Quarterly Review of Biology
- Elof Axel Carlson

"This is a fascinating book. It should be read carefully and avidly."

History Today
- Gregory Radick

"[An] absorbing biography."

Choice

"This is an extraordinarily thorough investigation into the life of a great (and greatly maligned) scientist....This is a masterly work, and belongs in the library of anyone who has an interest in the history of evolutionary science. Highly recommended."—Choice

Cell
- Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado

"A truly engrossing and fascinating story about a man, the product of 19th century Romanticism, part artist, part scientist, who becomes by his own insight and conviction the epicenter of a powerful clash between science and religion. Even 100 years later, the repercussions of Haeckel's actions continue to be felt in today's scientific, popular, religious, and even political discourse. . . . Richards’ exhaustive scholarship is evident throughout this brobdingnagian and revealing work of biography and history of science....this book will go a long way in recalibrating our understanding, even our appreciation, of Haeckel’s position in the history of embryology and of his contributions to modern biological research."

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Robert J. Richards is the Morris Fishbein Professor of the History of Science and Medicine at the University of Chicago and the author, most recently, of The Romantic Conception of Life: Science and Philosophy in the Age of Goethe, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

6. Travel to England and the Canary Islands: Experimental Justification of Evolution
Visit to England and Meeting with Darwin
Travel to the Canary Islands
Research on Siphonophores Entwickelungsmechanik
A Polymorphous Sponge: The Analytical Evidence for Darwinian Theory
Conclusion: A Naturalist Voyaging

7. The Popular Presentation of Evolution
Haeckel’s Natural History of Creation
Conclusion: Evolutionary Theory and Racism

8. The Rage of the Critics
Critical Objections and Charges of Fraud
Haeckel’s Responses to His Critics
The Epistemology of Photograph and Fact: Renewed Charges of Fraud
The Munich Confrontation with Virchow: Science vs. Socialism
Conclusion

9. The Religious Response to Evolutionism: Ants, Embryos, and Jesuits
Haeckel’s Journey to the Tropics: The Footprint of Religion
“Science Has Nothing to Do with Christ”—Darwin
Erich Wasmann, a Jesuit Evolutionist
The Keplerbund vs. the Monistebund
The Response of the Forty-six
Conclusion

10. Love in a Time of War
At Long Last Love
The World Puzzles
The Consolations of Love
Second Journey to the Tropics—Java and Sumatra
Growth in Love and Despair
Lear on the Heath
The Great War

11. Conclusion: The Tragic Sense of Ernst Haeckel
Early Assessments of Haeckel Outside of Germany
Haeckel in the English-Speaking World at Midcentury
Haeckel Scholarship in Germany (1900–Present)
The Contemporary Evaluation: Haeckel and the Nazis Again
The Tragedy of Haeckel’s Life and Science

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